Clark Duke (Little Elliot in Hearts Afire) in the Movie Sex Drive

[Pavan]

Clark Duke in Sex Drive



http://www.acedmagazine.com/content/view/1958/33/

Written by John Delia
Sunday, 19 October 2008

Clark Duke, one of the stars in the just-released film Sex Drive, was in Miami recently, and I was able to grab a quick chat with him. Clark started in film at the young age of seven when he appeared on the TV sitcom Heats Afire, that also starred John Ritter and Billy Bob Thornton. Following several appearances on TV’s Crime Scene Investigation (CSI), he developed his Internet show Clark and Michael (Michael Cera, Juno) that is still going strong on the web.

After a small role in the movie Superbad, Clark played Dale in 26 episodes of television’s Greek. During his stint on Greek, he voiced the character "Biker" on two episodes of Seth Green’s Robot Chicken. Sex Drive marks his first starring role in a major motion picture. Clark has since signed on for A Thousand Words and Kick Ass, both slated for 2009 openings.

Sex Drive is a teen comedy about Ian, a Chicago-born eighteen year-old who meets a gorgeous girl on the Internet that lives in Knoxville, Tennessee. After chatting on several occasions, she invites him to meet with her. With ideas of sex on his mind he gets his two best friends, Lance (Clark Duke) and Felicia to go on an eight-hour road trip to meet with the girl. Along the way the trio run into some life changing situations they did not expect.

ACED: Where did you grow up?
Clark: I am from Arkansas. I went to high school there, and grade school, everything. I just went to public school in a really rural area. I never really had a neighborhood as we lived on a few acres. Then I moved out to LA to go to Loyola Marymount College.

A: So how did your teen years go in high school?
C: I had girlfriends and went to the junior prom. I graduated high school a year early so I didn’t go to the senior prom. Actually I went with a friend of mine so it wasn’t a very scientific process to choose a date. It was nothing like in the movie (Sex Drive). Nothing that traumatic.

A: After watching the film and meeting you in person you seem to have the same personality as your character. How do you see yourself?
C: Yeah, I am like the kid in the movie. It is more or less me. It is exaggerated a little bit, but it is pretty close to my personality I’d say.

A: How did you get started in film?
C: I just kind of fell into acting when I was younger (age of seven). Then I went back to high school and now everything is just happening from Clark and Michael. I was in that and it was my thesis film in college. I have been working in film ever since.

A: Do you have any advice for our readers on getting into acting?
C: I don’t really have any advice for kids who want to get into acting. Everybody takes such a widely different path that it is hard to give any solid advice, I think.

A: How did you get the role of Lance in Sex Drive?
C: I didn’t have to prepare too much for the role as it is pretty much a naturalistic one for me. The only thing I kept in mind was I felt the character really liked that book The Game.

A: In the film your best friend realizes that he wants a love relationship with his best friend who happens to be a girl. Have you ever been in that situation?
C: I think everybody has had a platonic friend that they have had romantic inclinations about. I can’t think of any real specific examples off-hand. Besides, I don’t think my friends would appreciate it if I told anything like that. I still talk to my friends from school even though I live in LA now. One of my best friends from high school got married last summer, which was pretty bizarre.

A: Were there any funny scenes that you can relate to our audience that did not show up in the final cut of the film?
C: The only funny scene that ended up on the cutting room floor was the one with Kiel maybe, but I don’t really remember it in detail. There was also the one-liner with Dave when Amanda asked him if he could pee in the radiator, and he said no, but I could **** in it. That was the only line that I liked that got cut.

A: Have you ever met someone on line?
C: I am still on the web at clarkandmichael.com. That is still up and running. And, I do get recognized quite a bit from the show on the web especially in LA. So it does not hurt I suppose. I haven’t had a lot of marriage proposals yet, but we’ll see. Maybe if the movie opens big.

A: What is next for you?
C: Next I have the Eddie Murphy movie A Thousand Words coming out in April or May of 2009. I am also shooting a film called Kick-Ass right now. I got a supporting part in that. I am writing a script, but I can’t talk about that yet since it has not been announced.

A: Is there anything else you want to tell our audience?
C: I want to encourage everyone to please go and watch the movie. Everybody who watches the movie seems pleasantly surprised by it because I think it is not what he or she expects it to be. Based on the title and the genre of the film I think people have a lot of misconceptions about what the quality and the subject matter are going to be. I would just encourage people to watch it.